Focus on Your Weaknesses and Build Your Foundation

By: Sarah Kuindersma, MAT Specialist

As many of us find ourselves forced to step back from the sports and recreational hobbies we love, right now is a great time to take some time to focus on our body movement fundamentals so when organized sports re-open, you can go in ready to play. With that said, here are Sarah’s suggestions for preparation, rebuilding, and doing your body some good as we head into this next year.

Focus on Your Weaknesses

Now is a great time to assess, work on and fix the weak areas in your training which could include any muscle imbalances and weaknesses that are identified. We've all heard the expression, “You're only as good as your weakest link,” and it's true that it’s often the little things that make a big difference overall. For example, if your glutes aren't firing efficiently, any activity you do will place more stress into your low back, creating stiffness and a decrease in performance. This could mean, for example, less power in your running stride. Therefore finding a way to build your glutes can help to solve or prevent future issues.

Build Your Foundation

Look at this year as an opportunity to build or rebuild a solid foundation. Some of us might have experienced some losses due to lack of activity, and now might need to ‘Get back to the basics.’ Your body stores information in the central nervous system and every time you learn a new movement, a motor pattern is actually integrated and stored. These movements become automatic and are fine-tuned by unconscious feedback that your body is storing as you are learning something new. The saving of motor patterns effectively makes the neuromuscular system much more efficient when the body is exposed to similar demands. For this reason, we do not have to think about a movement like walking, riding a bike, or throwing a ball, we just know! Without basic joint mobility and strength, it will cause to many inefficiencies, so it would be the equivalent to trying to build a house without ever knowing how to use the tools.

Check out Sarah's YouTube channel for some movement ideas, from basic exercises to sport-specific movements, here. If you'd like specific mobility drills to improve your game make sure to book an appointment to have it tailored to your needs and goals. 

How can an MAT Specialist help you identify and focus on your weaknesses and build your foundation?

A problem related to muscular imbalances occurs over time when we are exposed to stress, trauma, or overuse. The resulting inflammation on the body will bring about a less efficient muscular system and diminished neuromuscular function. In other words, your ‘saved’ faulty motor pattern when drawn upon can lead to injury or a loss in the proper power of the motion itself. This transformed communication between the nervous system and the muscular system can lead to altered mechanics which, in turn, can trigger symptoms relating to muscle tightness, pain, and many other physical complaints. 

Active Sports Therapy offers M.A.T.®(Muscle Activation Techniques), which is a way to assess and correct an individual’s muscle imbalances. M.A.T. ® is designed to re-establish the communication pathways between the nervous system and the muscular system in order to restore muscle contractile capabilities.  Having an M.A.T. specialist assess your mechanics can help you learn more efficient ways of moving and lower the chances of a future injury. You can also learn how to train more efficiently for your limitation.  If you would like to learn more about whether M.A.T.® might be right for you please contact us to  schedule a free meet and  greet with specialist Sarah Kuindersma.

Improved Treatment for Headaches with Active Release Techniques

[vc_row][vc_column width="1/1"][vc_column_text]Any headache sufferer knows that headaches can be among the most frustrating and debilitating health problems. When headaches develop they often interfere or prevent many of our most basic daily activities such as using the computer, reading, carrying on a conversation, and even thinking. To make matters worse, studies show that treatment for headaches top the list for conditions in which patients are most dissatisfied with their care.

Now for the good news, a treatment technique known as Active Release Technique (ART) is proving to be a very effective method to treat many common types of headaches.  Through ART treatments, many headache sufferers are now able to finally get a handle on their headaches and get back to living their lives.  But before we talk about how ART works so effectively we first need to understand how headaches develop in the first place.

Understanding Headaches

There is a common perception that the cause of all headaches is in the head itself, which seems like a logical assumption since that is where the symptoms are.  However, there is now a firm base of scientific evidence that suggests many of the most common types of headaches may actually be generated in the muscles, joints, and nerves of the neck.

When talking about the neck, we are actually talking about the upper portion of the spinal column – the cervical spine.  The cervical spine consists of 7 small bones call “vertebrae” stacked on top of each other.  By themselves the joints of the cervical spine are not very stable, so to protect the region, a complex system of muscles surrounds the spinal column to control movement and protect the area from injury.

Not only do these muscles need to move and protect the cervical spine, but they also must control the weight of the head.  The head and neck have a unique anatomical relationship in that the larger, heavier head – which weighs about 10 pounds – sits atop the thinner neck.  This essentially represents an inverted pendulum, to topple over. This places a high demand on the neck muscles to both support and control the weight of the head, while at the same time ensuring adequate movement and stability of the joints of the cervical spine. This complex process requires each muscle to be adequately strong, flexible, and coordinated, and as long as this is the case the neck remains protected and healthy, and will not generate headache symptoms.

How do problems in the neck lead to headaches?

The interesting fact is that muscle and joint dysfunction in the cervical spine has actually been shown to cause headaches through a process known as referred pain. The referred pain phenomenon is a complicated neurological process, but simply stated, referred pain is a process that causes pain to be felt at a location other than where the problem is occurring.  Other examples of referred pain can be seen during a heart attack, when pain is felt in the left arm, or with a disc herniation in the low back, which causes pain to be felt down the leg.

Scientific studies have shown that when problems in the muscles and joints of the neck occur, they often refer pain to the head, causing symptoms such as ache, throbbing, pressure, burning, even stabbing pain. In many cases there can be some ache or tension in the neck that occur along with the headache symptoms, but in many cases there are no noticeable symptoms in the neck at all.

How do problems in the neck lead to headaches?

There are many situations that can develop which will affect the health and function on the muscles and joints of the neck. For example, poor or prolonged postural strain that occurs with computer use and many desk jobs, repetitive use with certain sports, muscles imbalances, lack of stretching or strengthening, or previous injury such as car accidents (even minor accidents with little or no injuries that occurred at the time) can all lead to muscle tightness, weakness, and a lack of coordination of the cervical spine muscle – muscles that are critical to maintaining the health and function of the head and neck region.

Over time this strain develops into what is known as micro-trauma. Simply stated, micro-trauma is very small scale damage that occurs in the muscles, tendons, joint capsules, and ligaments in response to small levels of strain. In many cases this micro-trauma is not painful, but damage still need to be repaired. The body responds to micro-trauma in a predictable way – by laying down small amounts of scar tissue to repair the area. Unfortunately over time this scar tissue will build-up and accumulate into what we call adhesions. As these adhesions form they start to affect the normal health and function of the muscles and related joints. In fact, they will often lead to pain, tightness, stiffness, restricted joint motion, and diminished blood flow. This places even further strain on the neck muscles, which in turn leads to even more micro-trauma. Essentially a repetitive strain injury cycle is set-up causing continued adhesion formation and progressive cervical spine dysfunction.

The Nerves and Their Role in Headaches

Although strain of the muscles, tendons, and ligaments themselves can be responsible for tension-type headaches through the referred pain phenomenon, they may also cause headaches if they compress or entrap the nerves that supply the head. As the nerves exit the spinal cord they travel through small openings in the spinal column, then pass through and between the muscles that surround the cervical spine, and continue on to supply distant structures such a muscles, joints, skin and blood vessels.

Many of these nerves travel down the arm (which is why neck problems often cause arm pain) but some of these nerves actually travel up to supply the back, side, and top of the head.  Under normal circumstances these nerves should be able to move and slide between the surrounding muscles. However, when the neck muscles become tight and there is an accumulation of scar tissue adhesions in the around the muscles it is common for these adhesions to affect the nerves.  In many cases the adhesions can cause the nerves to become “stuck” to the surrounding muscles and other structures. Instead of the nerves easily gliding between the muscles they become stretched and irritated.  When nerves become irritated symptoms are usually generated in the area that the nerve travels to – in this case, the head.

How Can Headaches Be Treated?

The Traditional Approach

            The most common approach to treating headaches is medication to reduce inflammation, block pain, or relax muscles that may be causing headache symptoms. In the case of chronic or recurrent headaches, sometimes doctors will prescribe stronger prescription medications to help fight the headache symptoms. In some cases, even more invasive measures such a joint blocks are used, whereby an agent is injected into the joint to block the referred pain and other symptoms.

The main reason that medications fail to provide long-term resolution for headaches is that they fail to address any underlying problems of the muscles, nerves or joints of the neck that are causing recurrent headaches.  Instead, they address the symptoms of the headache and simply cover up the underlying issues in the neck – issues that if not addressed will continue to cause problems. As a result many people become reliant on medication to accomplish relief of their headaches.  This is not only a temporary fix that is only covering up the problems, but it also increases risk of side-effects and dependency on the medication.

Unfortunately, muscle tightness, scar tissue adhesions, nerve entrapments, and abnormal joint movement cannot be seen on x-rays or advanced imaging. This is because the water density of the scar tissue tends to be quite similar to the surrounding tissues.  These problems in the muscles, joints, nerves and ligaments can, however, be felt or tested with the hands of a properly skilled practitioner, as scar tissue has a very unique texture. A thorough history and clinical examination is usually sufficient to give the clinician enough information to diagnose the problem.

ART: Our Approach – A Better Solution

ART stands for Active Release Techniques. It is a highly successful hands-on treatment method to address problems in the soft tissues of the body, including the muscles, ligaments, fascia, and nerves.  ART treatment is highly successful in dealing with headaches because it is specifically designed to locate and treat scar tissue adhesions that accumulate in the muscles and surrounding soft tissues. By location and treating the soft-tissue adhesions with ART, it allows the practitioner to, 1) breakup restrictive adhesions, 2) reinstate normal tissue flexibility and movement, and 3) more completely restore flexibility, balance, and stability to the injured area and to the entire kinetic chain.

You can think of an ART treatment as a type of active massage. The practitioner will first shorten the muscle, tendon, or ligament, and then apply a very specific pressure with their hand as you actively stretch and lengthen the tissues.  As the tissue lengthens the practitioner is able to assess the texture and tension of the muscle to determine if the tissue is healthy or contains scar tissue that needs further treatment. When scar tissue adhesions are felt the amount and direction of tension can be modified to treat the problematic area.  In this sense, each treatment is also an assessment of the health of the area as we are able to feel specifically where the problem is occurring.

An additional benefit of ART is it allows us to further assess and correct problems not only at the site of pain itself, but also in other areas of the kinetic chain, which are associated with movement compensations and are often contributing factors to the problem. This ensures that all the soft tissues that have become dysfunctional and are contributing to the specific injury are addressed, even if they have not yet all developed pain.

One of the best things about ART is how fast it can get results. In our experience, many patients respond very well to ART treatment, especially when combined with the appropriate home stretching and strengthening exercises. Although each case is unique and there are several factors that will determine the length of time required to fully resolve each condition, we usually find a significant improvement can be gained in just 4-6 treatments.

If you think that ART for your headaches could be an option, please reach out to us for an appointment by calling 403-278-1405 or email mail@activesportstherapy.ca.

*This blog is not intended to officially establish a physician-patient relationship, to replace the services of a trained physician, naturopathic doctor, physical therapist or chiropractor or otherwise to be a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment.  

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Tips for Your Workspace from a Physiotherapist

[vc_row][vc_column width="1/1"][vc_column_text]By: Ellen Rossiter, PT

If you are someone who does computer work, then it's likely you tend to spend most of your day sitting, be it at your desk, at meetings, or sitting with clients. This also means that you’re likely spending a lot of time on your computer, on the phone, and in positions of reading and writing.

The resulting pain points for most people may include:

  1. Neck/Headaches
  2. Low Back/Hips
  3. Forearms/Wrists/Elbows

Although everyone is different, there is a posture we call Home Base, which is a position that allows most bodies to relax. To bring yourself to Home Base, remember the following:

Regardless of your posture, there is one thing to keep in mind. “Motion is lotion!” What that means is that you need to move throughout the day.

Movement is the most important thing to remember so:

Here are a few other things to think about when sitting down to work:

If you’re experiencing pain that is resulting from your workspace, a session with a Physiotherapist can help you identify some simple changes that you can make that might make all the difference. A custom stretching routine for your specific pain points is something a PT can create to help you enjoy a pain free workday.

*This blog is not intended to officially establish a physician-patient relationship, to replace the services of a trained physician, naturopathic doctor, physical therapist or chiropractor or otherwise to be a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment.  [/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row]

Healthy Bones For Life

[vc_row][vc_column width="1/1"][vc_column_text]By: Dr. Fiona Lovely, DC

Have you been told you are at an increased risk for osteoporosis? Maybe you already have osteopenia or you know it runs in the family? Turns out, there are a great many factors involved in healthy bone tissue and there are many avenues for you to help your bones be at their strongest! Here are some tips for staying strong and upright at every age:

There are some supplements to help assure that your body has what it needs to build strong bones.

Remember, the processes that destroy bone must be removed in order to be well. You cannot just take supplements and pray for healthy bones, you must look at which diet and lifestyle habits you may have that can be hurtful to bones first.

*This blog is not intended to officially establish a physician-patient relationship, to replace the services of a trained physician, naturopathic doctor, physical therapist or chiropractor or otherwise to be a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment.  

Talk to your AST practitioner about bone healthy habits, hormone and gastrointestinal testing, and whether you would benefit from taking a high quality supplement for bone health.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row]

Tips for Supporting Your Immune System

[vc_row][vc_column width="1/1"][vc_column_text]By Kira Greasley, CHNC

In the world of health, an understanding of the association between your gut health and the immune system is being widely studied. The health of the body depends on the health of the Gastrointestinal Tract, which is a long tube made up of layers of muscle lined by cells and glands embedded in a mucous lining that begins in the mouth and ends in the anus. Basically, everything we consume passes through our body by ingestion and moves along the GI Tract or ‘gut’ through digestion and absorption. Within the gut are many different strands of bacteria, some are good, and some are bad. According to A. Venketeshwer Rao, MSc, PhD, “It’s the predominance of the beneficial bacteria referred to as the probiotic bacteria, such as bifidobacteria and lactic acid bacteria, that ensure good health and prevent diseases of the gut and other organs in the body.” The importance of good gut health is being linked to more and more health issues so it's an important topic to focus your attention on, and one that you have the to power take control of.

The Inside Facts

Things You Can Do To Support that “Gut Feeling”

  1. Kick out those refined sugars and processed foods, they have no nutritional value for all those gut bugs, and sugar suppresses your immune function and helps to feed inflammation.
  2. Eat plenty of organic greens, organic fruits and organic vegetables. The more colourful the food on your plate is, the more vitamins and minerals you are providing to your body.
  3. Get good quality protein! Protein is necessary to build and maintain all components of your immune system. Omega 3 fatty acids found in wild-caught cold water fish are important modulators of inflammation and immune responses in your immune systems.
  4. Stay hydrated. Adding items like organic lemons, fresh mint or organic cucumbers, can assist your body in flushing out toxins.
  5. Keep moving. Movement keeps your immune (lymphatic) system from getting clogged up. Think of movement as your human liquid Drano!
  6. Take time to chill. There are some great meditation apps out there today like Calm, Breethe, and Headspace to name a few. Taking as little as 10 minutes a day to focus on your breathing has been scientifically shown to slow down our stress response and improve system responses such as immunity.
  7. Be sure to get your Z’s. Your body repairs itself at night. Without proper sleep, this process gets hindered, leaving you susceptible to illnesses. Also worth mentioning is the importance of your thoughts on the sleep process. Science shows that your body ruminates while you sleep on what your last thought of the day was, so make it a positive one!

Nutrients to Support a Healthy Immune System

Even if your diet consists of healthy foods, you will likely still need to supplement. Here is a great list of basic supplements to help support your immune system.

During these difficult times, it is important to do everything possible to keep yourself healthy both physically and mentally so incorporate some of these changes today!

Follow the links to learn more about Kira Greasley, Certified Holistic Nutritional Consultant and her available Nutritional Consulting Packages.

*This blog is not intended to officially establish a physician-patient relationship, to replace the services of a trained physician, naturopathic doctor, physical therapist or chiropractor or otherwise to be a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment.  [/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row]

Acupuncture for Insomnia

[vc_row][vc_column width="1/1"][vc_column_text]By: Dr. Vikki Mcguire TCM

What is considered insomnia?

Insomnia is a sleep disorder where an individual has difficulty falling asleep and/or remaining asleep through the night. Upon waking in the night, the person might then have a tough time falling back to sleep. Insomnia can be either acute, which means it’s short-lived and goes away. Acute insomnia might be due to a stressful life event, for example, a student may not be able to sleep the night before an important exam. Chronic insomnia is when a person experiences it a minimum of three nights per week lasting at least three months. In Traditional Chinese Medicine, it could also include sleep that is disrupted by nightmares and dreams.

Most adults need about 7-9 hours of sleep per night and without that people can experience both a physical and mental toll, especially if the insomnia is chronic.

In Traditional Chinese Medicine, insomnia can be a symptom of an underlying health issue. Some causes of sleep disorders include:

After a full assessment, a TCM doctor will design a treatment plan to help address your sleep issue. It may include a self-care lifestyle plan, herbal recommendations, nutrition options, acupuncture and cupping treatments.

How can Acupuncture Help with Sleep?

Acupuncture is a treatment where fine needles are placed into certain points in the body that will help to stimulate nerves, muscles, and connective tissues. With regards to sleep directly, acupuncture therapy can help to activate your body's generation of the sleep hormone melatonin and works to  lower overall stress and anxiety by relaxing the body, in turn sending you to sleep easier. Working with the flow of energy in the body, acupuncture can help bring back flow to areas of the body that may be obstructed or are experiencing an imbalance. Many people experience an extremely peaceful sleep immediately after an acupuncture session.

If you're having trouble falling asleep, here are a few pieces of low-hanging fruit that you can reach for to see if they make a difference:

If you’re interested in learning more to find out whether acupuncture could be right for you, please book in with Dr. Vikki Mcguire TCM at Active Sports Therapy.

*This blog is not intended to officially establish a physician-patient relationship, to replace the services of a trained physician, naturopathic doctor, physical therapist or chiropractor or otherwise to be a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment.  [/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row]

Magnesium – The Benefits, The Sources, and More

[vc_row][vc_column width="1/1"][vc_column_text]By: Active Sports Therapy

Magnesium is a mineral that works very hard within our bodies at the cellular level and is part of over 300 biochemical reactions that occur each day. It plays a role in nerve and muscle function, supports the immune system and heart, assists with bone health, regulates the metabolism of nutrients, and much more.

Magnesium deficiency in North America is extremely common. Health Canada recommends that for adult men the RDA is 400-420 milligrams per day and for adult women it’s 310-320 milligrams per day. These are general numbers across populations, so you may find upon research that other sources include factors such as height or weight in their recommendations.

Magnesium deficiency can be linked to a wide variety of symptoms such as chronic pain, irritability, muscle twitches and cramps, fatigue, irregular heartbeats, depression, restless leg syndrome, insomnia and poor sleep quality, and much more. If you are dealing with a recent injury, it’s a good idea to talk to your chiropractor about supplementing magnesium during recovery.

If you’re looking for food sources of magnesium, here are some great options:

There are several factors that can impair your ability to pull magnesium from the foods you eat. Here are just a few:

At AST we can provide you with recommendations suited to your needs, as well we have a few types of magnesium supplements available at the clinic.

Ancient Minerals Topical Magnesium – This is magnesium that can be sprayed or rubbed on your body and is easily absorbed by the skin. It is a particularly useful method of supplementation for those who have digestive concerns.

Ancient Minerals Salts – Similar to the topical treatment, this is a relaxing way to get additional magnesium by adding the salt to your bath or foot soaks.

Supplements – Talk to your practitioner about whether a supplement is right for you as we do have supplements available as prescribed in either pill or liquid form.

*This blog is not intended to officially establish a physician-patient relationship, to replace the services of a trained physician, naturopathic doctor, physical therapist or chiropractor or otherwise to be a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment.  [/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row]

Health Tips for Men

[vc_row][vc_column width="1/1"][vc_column_text]By: Active Sports Therapy

November is Men’s health awareness month so guys take a read of these tips we’ve compiled and ladies share with the important men in your life. We know that men are often a little slower to address nagging issues and are less likely to visit their doctor on a regular basis. But it’s important for men to pay attention to their body, mind and overall health.

Eat Healthy – This is a given for all people but there are foods that can help boost men’s health in general. Fatty fish, pumpkin seeds, broccoli, berries, and red and orange vegetables are great items to incorporate often as they are directly related to benefits such as decreased risks of prostate cancer and improved brain function. If you’re unsure of what a healthy diet looks like for you, don’t be afraid to consult a nutritionist for help. Taking a cooking class can be a great way to learn something new and to help you prepare these healthy foods in a tasty way.

Get a Move On – Men should be getting at least 150 minutes of moderate aerobic activity per week. This could include a brisk walk, yard work, swimming and other light activities. If you’re aiming to do more vigorous things like running, cycling or playing hockey, then 75 minutes per week can do the trick. It’s also important to throw in strength training 2 or more times per week especially for those larger muscle groups. If you’re having trouble hitting these targets then some small changes can be helpful. Take a walking meeting with a colleague, take the stairs, join in and play with the kids, and park a little further away than normal. It all counts!

Let’s Consider Safety – Whether you are mowing the lawn, going snowmobiling or biking, or helping your buddy move a couch just ensure that you’re practicing everything safely. That means helmets or proper equipment, lifting in a proper way, and checking your surroundings. Safety can stop those preventable injuries that can sometimes end up nagging us for a lifetime.

Stress Management – Stress can take a toll on our physical body and on our mental health, so it’s important for men to find positive ways to deal with their stress. This could be exercise, seeing a therapist to learn new coping techniques, regular massages, developing work-life balance, or talking openly about your problems with trusted friends or family members.

At Age 50 It’s Time to Talk Prostates with Your Doctor – According to Movember’s website, you should talk to your doctor at age 50 about prostate cancer and whether it’s time for you to have a PSA test. If you are of African or Caribbean decent, or have a father or brother with prostate cancer then you should speak to your doctor at age 45. (Movember.com)

Ok men! You’ve got the details now so start incorporating some of these tips into your life today.

*This blog is not intended to officially establish a physician-patient relationship, to replace the services of a trained physician, naturopathic doctor, physical therapist or chiropractor or otherwise to be a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row]

What is Athletic Therapy and How Can it Help You

[vc_row][vc_column width="1/1"][vc_column_text]By: Active Sports Therapy

What is Athletic Therapy

Most people think of Athletic Therapy as immediate sideline assistance and emergency medical coverage at sporting events, but Athletic Therapists also work with athletes to treat and rehabilitate injuries. Athletic Therapists specialize in returning injured athletes back to pre-injury performance levels. With extensive education and training in the areas of the musculoskeletal system, exercise physiology and biomechanics, Athletic Therapists create an individualized plan to address your specific injury and athletic needs.

There are other areas of expertise that an Athletic Therapist can provide. So what can an Athletic Therapist do to help you?

Prevent – help prevent injuries through conditioning or exercise programs, creating injury prevention warm-up programs, patient education, equipment selection or using taping or bracing techniques.

Assess – evaluating an injury and establishing a plan of action.

Provide Emergency Care – Athletic Therapists are the first medical practitioners on the scene when an injury takes place at a sporting event. They are trained to provide basic emergency life support, and manage serious injuries to help prepare the individual to be transferred to more urgent care.

Rehabilitation – Helping people return to their pre-injury condition, an Athletic Therapist employs active approaches to rehabilitation. They may use movement therapies, targeted exercises, and other modalities as needed.

Recondition – Reconditioning is the holistic process of improving human movement potential by integrating the strengths of performance coaching and therapeutic practice. Individuals get rapid, effective and long-lasting results because the practitioners address the root cause of injuries and provide complete solution sets. Each solution set is uniquely tailored to the person and context of his/her situation.

Utilizing the Sports Medicine Model, a Certified Athletic Therapist CAT(C) can help with the following types of injuries or concerns:

Don’t consider yourself an athlete? Whether you’re an elite level athlete or a weekend warrior, an Athletic Therapist can help you get back to doing what you love.

The Canadian Athletic Therapists Association has coined the term ‘Rapid Return to Work & Play,’ and our Athletic Therapist at Active Sports Therapy works to deliver on this goal.

Learn more about our CAT(C) Crystal Bartkowski

*This blog is not intended to officially establish a physician-patient relationship, to replace the services of a trained physician, naturopathic doctor, physical therapist or chiropractor or otherwise to be a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment.  

References: The Canadian Association of Athletic Therapists www.athletictherapy.org[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row]

Treating Piriformis Syndrome

[vc_row][vc_column width="1/1"][vc_column_text]By: Dr. Corey Finan BSc., DC, CCSP, RMT, ART

In order to properly treat piriformis syndrome, it is important to understand that the piriformis muscle is either spasming, or is inflamed.  Both situations can cause their own problems.  If you are getting numbness down your leg, the muscle is probably spasmed.  A spasmed muscle can cause local pain as well, so hip pain with numbness down the leg is a very common presentation of piriformis syndrome.  An inflamed muscle will cause the sciatic nerve that sits in close proximity to it to also get inflamed in some cases.  When this occurs, you will typically feel pain in the hip along with a burning pain radiating down your leg.

Understanding which situation is causing your particular symptoms can allow your practitioner to accurately treat it.  For example, a spasmed muscle will require work on the muscle to relax it, and techniques such as Active Release, Shockwave Therapy (in chronic cases), deep tissue massage and even Dry Needling (IMS) can help.  These all work to relax the spasm.  Home stretching would also be of benefit.

Active Release Techniques or ART is the gold standard for soft tissue treatment and is extremely effective at treating piriformis syndrome.  The practitioner starts with your muscle in a shortened position, and your leg is then moved to bring the muscle into a lengthened position while the doctor’s thumb tensions the muscle in the direction opposite to the muscle.  Think of a string with beads on it.  If you want to remove the beads, you would place your thumb beside the bead, and pull on the string.  The shear force generated unwinds the tightened muscle, causing the release of tension.  Hence the name Active Release.

Shockwave Therapy utilizes a compressive pulse of air that generates a shockwave to disrupt the muscle and create a release of tension.  It is the equivalent to about 5 times a normal ultrasound wave.  Thus it is a significant pulse created into the soft tissues of the hip to cause the spasm to decrease.  It is great for chronic conditions, but is ineffective for new injuries.

Dry needling can be used to release the spasm from the inside out.  Using an acupuncture needle, the practitioner can insert the needle right into the spasmed part of the muscle causing a local twitch response that in effect resets the electrical tone of the muscle back to the baseline, causing a release in the muscle tension.  It can be fast and effective, but it does not lengthen the muscle like Active Release does, so you run the risk of the spasm coming back again.

Deep tissue massage is great at releasing muscle spasms through active massaging of the affected muscle, and if a stretch component is added by the therapist it can be very effective.  It is considered a passive treatment, and unfortunately if the muscle is not also lengthened, then the same results as dry needling can occur where the spasm recurs.

If the muscle is inflamed, then things change somewhat in regards to care.  First and foremost, Active Release can still be performed to help release the muscle tightness or inflammation, and cause increased blood flow, oxygen flow and create and environment for healing.  On top of active release, low intensity laser can be extremely helpful in reducing the inflammation.  If it is badly inflamed, we can also bring in the game ready ice compression machine which will circulate near freezing water through a compressive cuff (similar to a blood pressure cuff) and cool down the hip muscles removing deep and/or plentiful inflammation.

Any and all of the following treatments for Piriformis Syndrome can be found at AST.  If you are suffering from piriformis syndrome quit suffering and give us a call.

*This blog is not intended to officially establish a physician-patient relationship, to replace the services of a trained physician, naturopathic doctor, physical therapist or chiropractor or otherwise to be a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment.  [/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row]